My Blog

Posts for: August, 2017

When it comes to dental matters, losing a tooth is one of the most distressing situations to deal with. It can leave you with a gap not only in your smile but also in your confidence. After a tooth is pulled or lost due to an unexpected injury, some patients resign themselves to living with a large dental gap forever. But this isn’t necessary thanks to a treatment called dental implants, which is available at Linden Dental in Naples, FL.

Gap Problems...
Living with a tooth-sized gap has implications that reach beyond just aesthetic concerns. It also makes it more challenging to bite down on food and break it down properly before you swallow. Large pieces of food can also get stuck in the gap, which if not removed promptly and regularly could lead to gum infections over time.

Fixing Your Gap
The best way to fix a dental gap is to have your Naples dentist install dental implants. Implants are superior to other replacement options for a number of reasons:

- The new tooth is firmly anchored in your mouth so there’s no risk of it falling out by accident.
- There’s no need to do any work on other adjacent teeth.
- The replacement “tooth” is made of a biocompatible titanium material that integrates well with your bone tissue.
- The dental crown used on top of an implant is usually made of porcelain, one of the most resilient and tooth-like materials available in dental medicine.

Get Your Smile Back
Your smile doesn’t have to include a large gap forever. You can get it back in just a couple of dentist appointments. This is what you can expect when you visit the dentist to inquire about implants:

- A full review of your dental history and examination of the condition of your bone tissue.
- A bone grafting procedure if necessary to add new bone tissue to the socket before implantation.
- A dental visit will be set to install the titanium implant. After this appointment, you will wait a few months for the device to heal in place so that a permanent crown can be added.

Start with a Consultation
Filling in dental gaps starts with one phone call to Linden Dental in Naples, FL. Call 239-593-0777 today to schedule an appointment with Drs. Richard and Maria Linden.

You’ve been embarrassed for a while now by your yellowed, dull teeth. You’re ready for a change.

There’s a simple and cost-effective way to make that change: you can temporarily brighten your smile with teeth whitening, possibly at home. But before you try it, you should first have a dental examination to find out if whitening is the right choice for you.

First off, healthy teeth with outer enamel staining are the best candidates for whitening. Teeth and gums with tooth decay or periodontal (gum) disease should be treated first before undergoing whitening. A dental exam will uncover any health issues you may have with your mouth.

In the same vein, you’ll want to consider whitening carefully if you have dental work like veneers, crowns or implants. Unlike natural teeth, these non-biological materials won’t be affected by the bleaching agent. We can discuss any potential for color mismatch between your whitened natural teeth and your dental work during your examination.

A dental exam can also uncover one other crucial fact — what kind of tooth staining you have. There are two basic types: extrinsic, staining on the outside enamel as we’ve mentioned earlier; and intrinsic, staining that originates from inside a tooth. The whitening kits you purchase from a store and even some of the whitening techniques we use in the office only diminish extrinsic, not intrinsic staining. To address an intrinsically-stained tooth requires a much more involved, invasive clinical technique only performed by dental professionals.

Finally, a dental examination is a good discussion forum for helping you decide between a home kit and a clinical procedure. While DIY kits are effective for the most part, you won’t be able to precisely control the degree of brightness like we can. This could be important if you want a specific shade of whiteness, from a more subtle and natural shade to dazzling “Hollywood” bright. Shade control could also help minimize color mismatch with dental work.

In the end, we want to help you make the best choice for teeth whitening. Even if you decide to pursue whitening at home, we can offer you valuable advice on what to look for when you buy a kit and how to use it. That alone could help ensure you get the new, bright smile you desire!

Everyone has to face the music at some time — even John Lydon, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols, arguably England’s best known punk rock band. The 59-year old musician was once better known by his stage name, Johnny Rotten — a brash reference to the visibly degraded state of his teeth. But in the decades since his band broke up, Lydon’s lifelong deficiency in dental hygiene had begun to cause him serious problems.

In recent years, Lydon has had several dental surgeries — including one to resolve two serious abscesses in his mouth, which left him with stitches in his gums and a temporary speech impediment. Photos show that he also had missing teeth, which, sources say, he opted to replace with dental implants.

For Lydon (and many others in the same situation) that’s likely to be an excellent choice. Dental implants are the gold standard for tooth replacement today, for some very good reasons. The most natural-looking of all tooth replacements, implants also have a higher success rate than any other method: over 95 percent. They can be used to replace one tooth, several teeth, or an entire arch (top or bottom row) of teeth. And with only routine care, they can last for the rest of your life.

Like natural teeth, dental implants get support from the bone in your jaw. The implant itself — a screw-like titanium post — is inserted into the jaw in a minor surgical operation. The lifelike, visible part of the tooth — the crown — is attached to the implant by a sturdy connector called an abutment. In time, the titanium metal of the implant actually becomes fused with the living bone tissue. This not only provides a solid anchorage for the prosthetic, but it also prevents bone loss at the site of the missing tooth — which is something neither bridgework nor dentures can do.

It’s true that implants may have a higher initial cost than other tooth replacement methods; in the long run, however, they may prove more economical. Over time, the cost of repeated dental treatments and periodic replacement of shorter-lived tooth restorations (not to mention lost time and discomfort) can easily exceed the expense of implants.

That’s a lesson John Lydon has learned. “A lot of ill health came from neglecting my teeth,” he told a newspaper reporter. “I felt sick all the time, and I decided to do something about it… I’ve had all kinds of abscesses, jaw surgery. It costs money and is very painful. So Johnny says: ‘Get your brush!’”

If you've known anyone who has worn braces, you know what comes after — wearing a retainer. This can be kind of a letdown after all those months with braces, but it's absolutely necessary.

That's because teeth have a tendency to “rebound” to their pre-orthodontic positions once the force to move them stops after the braces are removed. Retainers help keep or “retain” moved teeth in their new positions and prevent them from reverting to the old.

When you think “retainer,” you probably picture a removable appliance with a wire that fits over the front of the teeth. While that may be the most common type, it isn't the only one. There's another called a bonded retainer, a thin piece of wire bonded to the back of the teeth that need to be retained. Unlike the other type, a dentist must remove a bonded retainer when it's no longer needed.

The biggest advantage of a bonded retainer is its invisibility — the wire is behind the teeth so no one can see it as with a removable retainer. The wire is bonded to the teeth with a dental composite material and then light-cured to create a strong attachment.

Another advantage is especially pertinent to younger patients. Because it's permanently attached and can't be taken out, there's no constant reminding of the patient to wear it — and no more worries about replacing a lost one.

They can, though, be difficult to floss around leading to potential plaque buildup that increases disease risk. It's very important you receive proper hygiene instruction for cleaning under the bonded retainer. Another concern is that they can break under excessive chewing pressure. And as with the more common retainer, we wouldn't want to remove it as that will result in the teeth's relapse to their old positions.

To learn which retainer is best for your situation, you should discuss the options with your orthodontist. Regardless of which type you choose, though, a retainer is a must for protecting your investment in that new smile.